This passage from the “Scylla and Charybdis” episode of Ulysses finds Stephen Dedalus in the National Library, weaving a complex, quasi-autobiographical theory about Shakespeare. It is a dense thicket of Elizabethan allusion, paternity, and identity.
1. Interpreting the Imagery
> “Head, redconecapped, buffeted, brineblinded.”
>
This line is Stephen’s internal visualization of Pericles, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
* The Context: Stephen is discussing the “spirit of reconciliation” in Shakespeare’s later plays (the Romances). In Pericles, the hero is literally “shipwrecked in storms dire” and loses his wife and daughter to the sea.
* The “Redconecap”: This refers to a Phrygian cap or a traditional fisherman’s/sailor’s cap.
* The Meaning: Stephen is imagining the physical suffering of the artist-as-wanderer. The “brineblinded” state reflects the soul’s exhaustion before the “miracle” of reconciliation—meeting his long-lost daughter, Marina. It reinforces Stephen’s theme that an artist must be “sundered” (broken) before they can be “reconciled” (creative).
2. Shakespeare as “Bacon’s Wild Oats”
The theory that Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare’s plays was a massive intellectual trend in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
* The Metaphor: To “sow wild oats” usually refers to the reckless excesses of youth. By calling Shakespeare “Bacon’s wild oats,” Joyce/Stephen is mockingly suggesting that the “serious” philosopher Bacon used the name “Shakespeare” as a vent for his more passionate, chaotic, and creative impulses—the things he couldn’t put in his formal essays.
* Why the Mystery? Unlike Da Vinci, who left behind thousands of pages of personal notebooks (codices) that link his thoughts to his art, Shakespeare left no private journals, no letters, and no original manuscripts. We have the “voluminous” public work, but the “private man” is a ghost. This vacuum allows Stephen (and the “cypherjugglers” he mentions) to project their own theories onto him.
3. Etymologies
| Word/Name | Origin & Etymology | Context in Text |
|—|—|—|
| Apocrypha | From Greek apokryphos (“hidden, obscure”). Derived from apo- (away) + kryptein (to hide). | Refers to writings of doubtful authenticity or those not in the “canon.” John Eglinton accuses Stephen of seeking truth in “bypaths” rather than “highroads.” |
| Troilus | From Greek Trōilos. In mythology, a Trojan prince. His name is linked to Troy. | Mentioned as one of the “dark” plays. To Stephen, Troilus represents the “sundered” or betrayed man. |
| Marina | From Latin marinus (“of the sea”). | Pericles’ daughter, born at sea. She represents the “spirit of reconciliation” that lifts the shadow of the earlier tragedies. |
| Sophist | From Greek sophistēs (“wise man/master”), later becoming derogatory for one who uses clever but fallacious arguments. | Eglinton is calling Stephen a clever bullshitter. |

This section of the library scene is where Stephen’s “Scylla and Charybdis” theory reaches its peak, blending theology, personal trauma, and Shakespearean biography into a single, high-stakes argument.
1. The Opening Rhyme: Dublin and Candlelight
The lines “How many miles to Dublin? / Three score and ten, sir…” are a variation of an old English nursery rhyme (“How many miles to Babylon?”).
* Significance: In the context of Ulysses, it highlights Stephen’s sense of alienation. He is in Dublin, yet mentally he is “three score and ten” (seventy) miles or years away, wandering through the Elizabethan era. It also references the human lifespan (three score and ten years), suggesting a journey toward death or maturity.
2. Shakespeare’s “First Undoing” in the Ryefield
Stephen argues that Shakespeare was psychologically “wounded” by his marriage to Anne Hathaway.
* The Theory: Stephen posits that Anne (the “shrew”) seduced a younger, inexperienced Shakespeare in a cornfield (specifically a ryefield, referencing the song Comin’ Thro’ the Rye).
* The Impact: He calls this the “first undoing.” Stephen believes Shakespeare felt “overborne” (conquered) by an older woman, which killed his belief in himself. This trauma, according to Stephen, is why Shakespeare’s plays are obsessed with adultery, betrayal, and the “usurper.”
3. The “Mole Cinquespotted” and the Ghost
The mole makes a return here, linking back to your previous query.
* Imogen’s Breast: In Cymbeline, a mole “cinquespotted” (five-spotted) is used as “proof” of infidelity.
* The Ghost of King Hamlet: Stephen makes a brilliant meta-critical point. How does the Ghost of King Hamlet know he was poisoned in his ear and that his wife was unfaithful while he was asleep? Stephen argues the Ghost only knows because his “Creator” (Shakespeare) endowed him with that knowledge.
* The Core Argument: Shakespeare is the Ghost; he is the “unquiet father” looking for his lost youth. He is “consubstantial” with his characters—meaning he is both the father (the Ghost) and the son (Hamlet).
4. Etymologies & References
| Term | Origin & Meaning | Context in Text |
|—|—|—|
| Consubstantial | From Latin con- (together) + substantia (substance). | A theological term (the Son is of one substance with the Father). Stephen uses it to describe the mystical link between the artist and his work. |
| Coistrel | From Old French coustille (a long dagger/knife). | Originally a groom or a knave; a “coistrel gentleman” is a base or low-born man pretending to be a gentleman. |
| Buonaroba | From Italian buona (good) + roba (stuff/goods). | An Elizabethan slang term for a “good-looking wench” or a prostitute. |
| Dongiovannism | From the legend of Don Giovanni (Don Juan). | The persona of a predatory seducer. Stephen says Shakespeare’s “assumed” seducer persona couldn’t hide his inner “wounded” nature. |

The evolution of “coistrel” is indeed a strange linguistic journey—it’s essentially a story of moving from the weapon to the man who carries it, and finally to the low social status of that man.
1. The Evolution of “Coistrel”
The association follows a “trickle-down” effect of social class and military rank:
* The Tool (Coustille): In Old French, a coustille was a long, double-edged dagger or a short sword.
* The Rank (Coustillier): A coustillier was a soldier of low rank whose primary job was to support a knight. He was the “dagger-bearer.”
* The Servant (Groom/Knave): Because these men were attendants to the “real” soldiers (the knights), the word became synonymous with a camp follower, a groom, or a lowly servant.
* The Insult (Coistrel): By the time it reached English, it was a term of contempt. To call someone a “coistrel gentleman” (as Stephen does to Shakespeare) is to call him a pretender—someone of low birth (a servant/knave) who has bought or bluffed his way into high society.
2. The Nursery Rhyme: “How Many Miles to Babylon?”
This rhyme dates back to at least the 16th century and was often used as a singing game or a “gate-opening” game for children.
> How many miles to Babylon?
> Three score and ten.
> Can I get there by candle-light?
> Yes, and back again.
> If your heels are nimble and light,
> You may get there by candle-light.
>
The Joyce Connection: Stephen changes “Babylon” to “Dublin” because he is playing with the idea of the “Holy City.” For the Irish writers in the library, Dublin (and the Gaelic “Tir na n-og”) is their mystical destination. Stephen, however, feels the distance is “three score and ten”—the traditional length of a human life—suggesting he may never truly “arrive” or feel at home there.

In this section, the “Quaker librarian” (Thomas Lyster) tries to steer the conversation toward more contemporary and respectable Irish figures, while Stephen remains buried in his psychological autopsy of Shakespeare.
1. The Literary Giants: Shaw and Goethe
* George Bernard Shaw: Lyster brings him up to remind the group that they have their own world-class “Irish commentator.” Shaw was a contemporary of Joyce and, like Stephen, was obsessed with debunking romantic myths about Shakespeare. Shaw viewed Shakespeare not as a god, but as a man whose genius was often hampered by the limitations of his era.
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Stephen quotes Goethe’s famous warning: “Beware of what you wish for in youth because you will get it in middle life.” * The Irony: Stephen applies this to Shakespeare’s desire for status. Shakespeare wished to be a “gentleman” and a “lord of language,” but once he achieved it, he was haunted by the “undoing” of his youth (the seduction by Anne Hathaway). He got the fame, but it couldn’t cure the old “sore” of his wounded ego.
2. “The Tusk of the Boar”
Stephen makes a highly specific literary comparison here: “The tusk of the boar has wounded him there where love lies ableeding.”
* The Source: This is an allusion to Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis. In the myth, the beautiful youth Adonis is killed by a wild boar’s tusk goring his thigh.
* Stephen’s Interpretation: He uses the boar as a metaphor for Anne Hathaway. He suggests that Shakespeare was “gored” (metaphorically castrated or psychologically broken) by her early sexual dominance over him. This “wound” is what Stephen believes turned Shakespeare into a “ghost” who could never truly be the hero of his own life again.
3. Key Terms & Allusions
| Term | Context & Meaning |
|—|—|
| Dark Lady | The mysterious woman addressed in Shakespeare’s later sonnets. Frank Harris (mentioned by Lyster) argued she was Mary Fitton, a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth. |
| William Herbert | The Earl of Pembroke, often identified as the “Fair Youth” of the sonnets. Stephen suggests Shakespeare sent this “lordling” to woo for him, only to be betrayed by both the lord and the lady. |
| Auk’s Egg | A metaphor for the Librarian’s smooth, bald head. An “auk” is a flightless bird (extinct in the case of the Great Auk), symbolizing the Librarian as a fossilized or “dead” intellectual prize. |
| Laugh and Lie Down | An old card game, but here it serves as a sexual pun for the “game” of courtship that Shakespeare supposedly lost. |

The “Entr’acte” marks a shift in energy. The heavy, intellectual atmosphere of the library is punctured by the entrance of Buck Mulligan, the “mocker” who treats Stephen’s serious metaphysical theories as a joke.
1. The Mocking Creed: “He Who Himself begot…”
Mulligan’s entrance triggers a blasphemous internal monologue from Stephen. He summarizes the Apostles’ Creed through the lens of Stephen’s obsession with fatherhood and identity:
* The Logic: Stephen describes God the Father as a self-obsessed entity who “sent Himself” to be the “Agenbuyer” (Redeemer).
* The Satire: The phrase “sitteth on the right hand of His Own Self” mocks the idea of the Trinity. Stephen is highlighting the absurdity of a Father being his own Son—which is exactly what he is trying to prove Shakespeare did with his plays.
* “Nailed like bat to barndoor”: A visceral, rustic image of the crucifixion, stripping the event of its “divine” dignity and making it look like a dead animal tacked to a wall.
2. Mulligan’s Wit: “The chap that writes like Synge”
Mulligan’s joke is a sharp jab at the Irish Literary Revival.
* J.M. Synge was a contemporary Irish playwright known for using peasant dialect.
* By saying Shakespeare is “the chap that writes like Synge,” Mulligan is being intentionally anachronistic. He is mocking the provincialism of the Dublin intellectuals who think everything great must somehow be compared to current Irish trends.
3. Key References & Allusions
| Term | Context & Meaning |
|—|—|
| Gaseous Vertebrate | Mulligan’s nickname for God. It suggests a being that has structure (vertebrate) but no substance (gaseous). |
| Was Du verlachst wirst Du noch dienen | German: “What you laugh at, you shall yet serve.” From Goethe. A warning that mocking something doesn’t free you from its power. |
| Agenbuyer | Stephen’s “Old English” translation of Redeemer. “Agen” (again) + “buyer.” |
| Photius & Pseudomalachi | Historical heretics. Stephen identifies with them because they challenged the orthodox “truth” of the Church, just as he challenges the “truth” of Shakespeare. |
| Vining / Prince as a woman | Refers to Edward Vining’s 1881 book The Mystery of Hamlet, which seriously argued that Hamlet was a woman disguised as a man. It shows how “wild” Shakespearean theories were at the time. |
4. The D.B.C. and Hyde’s Lovesongs
* D.B.C.: The Dublin Bread Company, a popular tea room where the characters plan to meet.
* Lovesongs of Connacht: A famous collection by Douglas Hyde, a pivotal figure in the Gaelic Revival. Mulligan is contrasting Stephen’s “obsessive” Shakespeare theory with the “fashionable” interest in Irish folklore that people like Haines (the Englishman) are pursuing.

In this stretch, the library group pivots from the heavy biography of Shakespeare to the more “aesthetic” and playful theories of Oscar Wilde. Meanwhile, Buck Mulligan returns to his role as Stephen’s chief tormentor, mocking a high-minded telegram Stephen sent earlier.
1. What is a Quaker?
The librarian, Thomas Lyster, is frequently referred to as “the quaker librarian.”
* Definition: A Quaker is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian movement founded by George Fox in the 17th century.
* Beliefs: They are known for their belief in the “Inner Light” (God’s presence in every person), their commitment to pacifism, and their historical use of “plain speech” (using thee and thou instead of you).
* In the Text: Joyce uses Lyster’s Quaker background to contrast his gentle, “benign,” and mediating personality with the sharp, ego-driven arguments of Stephen and the cynical mockery of Mulligan.
2. Etymology of “Gallus”
Mulligan uses the word in his mock-Irish “brogue”: “…for a gallus potion would rouse a friar…”
* Origin: It is a slang shortening of “gallows.” * Evolution: Originally, “gallows-bird” referred to someone who deserved to be hanged (a rascal or a villain).
* Hiberno-English usage: In Irish slang (as popularized by J.M. Synge in The Playboy of the Western World), “gallus” shifted from meaning “villainous” to meaning “bold,” “wild,” “spirited,” or even “excellent” in a reckless way.
* Context: Mulligan is using it to describe a drink so strong and “wild” it could wake up a lecherous monk.
3. Key Concepts & Allusions
| Term | Meaning & Context |
|—|—|
| The Portrait of Mr. W.H. | A story by Oscar Wilde suggesting that Shakespeare’s sonnets were written for a boy actor named Willie Hughes. It’s a “paradox” because there is no historical record of such a person. |
| Ephebe | From Greek ephebos (a youth). Used here to describe the young, blond Mr. Best, suggesting he is like a classical, beautiful youth. |
| Usquebaugh | From Irish uisce beatha (“water of life”). The etymological root of the word Whiskey. |
| The Sentimentalist… | The text of Stephen’s telegram. He defines a sentimentalist as someone who wants the pleasure of an experience without the moral or emotional “cost” (debtorship). |
| The Kips | Dublin slang for the brothel district (Monto). Mulligan is asking if Stephen sent the telegram from a whorehouse. |

It is fascinating to see how the language of the “highroads” (proper English) and the “bypaths” (slang and Irish) collide in Stephen’s world. Here is the breakdown of those two terms.
1. Etymology of Whiskey: The “Water of Life”
The word whiskey is a perfect example of a loanword being “phonetically mangled” until it fits the English tongue. It is a direct translation of the Latin aqua vitae.
* Old Irish: It begins with uisce (water) and bethu (life).
* Middle/Modern Irish: This became uisce beatha (pronounced roughly ish-ka ba-ha).
* The Shift: When English soldiers and settlers arrived in Ireland, they struggled with the pronunciation. Over time, the second word (beatha) was dropped, and uisce was anglicized.
* Phonetic Evolution: * Uisce \rightarrow Usquebaugh (the spelling Joyce uses in your text) \rightarrow Whiskybash \rightarrow Whiskey.
> Note: The “e” in whiskey is generally used for Irish and American spirits, while “whisky” (without the e) is used for Scotch. Given the context of “Dan Deasy’s ducats,” Stephen is definitely drinking the Irish variety.
>
2. Etymology of “The Kips”
Mulligan’s dig about the “Kips” refers to the notorious red-light district of Dublin, specifically the area around Montgomery Street (often called “Monto”).
* Danish/Middle Dutch Origin: The word likely comes from the Middle Dutch kippe or kip, meaning a “hut,” “hovel,” or a low-quality dwelling.
* Evolution to Brothel: By the 18th and 19th centuries, the term moved from meaning a “cheap lodging house” to specifically meaning a brothel or a “house of ill repute.”
* Irish Context: In Dublin, “the kips” became synonymous with the squalor and vice of the city’s slums. When Mulligan asks if Stephen launched his telegram from “the kips,” he is mocking Stephen’s habit of wandering through the city’s underbelly while pretending to be a high-minded intellectual.

The term “Water of Life” sounds poetic, but its origins are a mix of medieval chemistry, medical desperation, and the sheer “miraculous” physical sensation of high-proof alcohol.
1. The Alchemical “Spirit”
In the Middle Ages, alchemy was the precursor to modern chemistry. When early distillers (often monks) figured out how to separate alcohol from water through distillation, they believed they had captured the “essential spirit” of the liquid.
* Purity: Distilled alcohol was clear, unlike the murky beers and wines of the time. This clarity suggested a divine purity.
* Preservation: Unlike water or juice, which would rot or spoil, this new liquid seemed “immortal.” It didn’t decay, and it could preserve organic matter (like fruit or herbs) placed within it.
* The Latin Root: Alchemists named this substance Aqua Vitae. This is the direct ancestor of the Irish Uisce Beatha, the French Eau de Vie, and the Scandinavian Akvavit.
2. Medicinal “Miracles”
Before it was a social lubricant, distilled spirits were strictly medicinal. In an era of plague and infection, a substance that could numb pain and sterilize wounds felt like a gift from God.
* Revitalization: When a person was faint or near death, a dose of high-proof spirits would provide an immediate (if temporary) “jolt” of energy, warming the chest and clearing the head. To an observer in the 1300s, it looked like the liquid was literally bringing the person back to life.
* The “Panacea”: It was believed to cure everything from “heavy spirits” (depression) to digestive issues and the cold.
3. Cultural Variations
The concept was so universal that almost every European language has its own version of “Water of Life”:
| Language | Term | Modern Evolution |
|—|—|—|
| Latin | Aqua Vitae | The scholarly/medical origin. |
| Irish Gaelic | Uisce Beatha | Became Whiskey. |
| Scottish Gaelic | Uisge Beatha | Became Whisky. |
| French | Eau de Vie | Still used for clear fruit brandies. |
| Scandinavian | Akvavit | Still used for caraway/herb spirits. |
| Polish/Russian | Voda (Water) | The diminutive -ka makes it “Little Water” (Vodka). |

This passage marks the moment Leopold Bloom (referred to by the slur “the sheeny” by Mulligan) briefly enters the scene to look for a newspaper file, providing a sharp contrast between the “Greek” ideal of beauty and the gritty reality of history and scandal.
1. The Greek vs. The Hebrew
Mulligan mocks Bloom as “Ikey Moses” and contrasts him with his own “Greek” obsession.
* “Foamborn Aphrodite”: Mulligan was in the museum looking at statues of Venus/Aphrodite. He calls her the mouth “never twisted in prayer,” representing pure, pagan sensuality.
* “Pale Galilean eyes”: A reference to Swinburne’s poem Hymn to Proserpine (“Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean”), referring to Christ. Mulligan is jokingly suggesting that the Jewish Bloom was looking at the statues’ anatomy (“mesial groove”) with the repressed or clinical gaze of a Christian or a “Greeker than the Greeks.”
2. Stephen’s Defense of the “Stay-at-home”
Stephen compares Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, to Penelope (Ulysses’ wife). He argues that while Shakespeare lived a life of “surfeit” (excess) in London, he was constantly torn between “conjugial love” (marriage) and “scortatory love” (lust/prostitution).
* The “William the Conqueror” Anecdote: This is a famous piece of Elizabethan gossip recorded by John Manningham. The actor Richard Burbage had an assignation with a citizen’s wife. Shakespeare overheard, got there first, and when Burbage knocked, Shakespeare sent word that “William the Conqueror came before Richard III” (since Shakespeare’s name was William and Burbage was famous for playing Richard III).
3. Etymologies & Difficult Terms
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Meaning in Context |
|—|—|—|
| Galliard | From Middle French gaillard (“brisk, merry”). | A lively Renaissance court dance. Used to describe the Librarian’s quick, polite exit. |
| Gombeenwoman | From Irish gaimbín (“usury/interest”). | A “gombeen” is a moneylender who takes advantage of the poor. Stephen calls Queen Elizabeth I (Eliza Tudor) this to mock her greed. |
| Marchpane | From Italian marzapane. | Marzipan. Part of the list of “surfeit” (rich foods) Shakespeare enjoyed in London. |
| Scortatory | From Latin scortator (“fornicator”) from scortum (“skin/hide” or “prostitute”). | Relating to illicit sexual connection or prostitution. |
| Mesial groove | From Greek mesos (“middle”). | A technical/anatomical term for the vertical fold or “groove” in the middle of the buttocks (referencing the statue Venus Kallipyge). |
| Venus Kallipyge | Greek: kallos (beauty) + pyge (buttocks). | Literally “Venus of the beautiful buttocks,” a specific type of classical statue. |
| Broadbrim | Reference to the wide-brimmed hats traditionally worn by Quakers. | A nickname for the Librarian, Lyster. |
| Sack | From French vin sec (“dry wine”). | A fortified white wine (like Sherry) popular in Shakespeare’s time. |

In this “art of surfeit,” Stephen portrays London as a playground of sensory excess, contrasting the hungry, “sundered” artist with the physical wealth he eventually acquired.
1. The Art of Surfeit
Stephen uses this term to describe a world overflowing with material luxury. In his view, Shakespeare’s genius wasn’t born in a vacuum; it was fueled by the “grossness” of Elizabethan life.
* The Food: Stephen lists items like marchpane (marzipan), gooseberried pigeons, and ringocandies. The latter were candied roots of the Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum), which Elizabethans famously ate as aphrodisiacs—furthering Stephen’s point about the “goad of the flesh.”
* The Fashion: He mentions Sir Walter Raleigh having “half a million francs on his back.” This isn’t literal cash, but the value of the jewels, lace, and silver-thread embroidery popular in the court.
* The Underlinen: By calling Queen Elizabeth a “gombeenwoman” with enough underlinen to “vie with her of Sheba,” Stephen is stripping the “Virgin Queen” of her dignity, painting her as a greedy, hoarder-like figure.
2. The “William the Conqueror” Joke
To understand the joke about Dick Burbage, you have to see the wordplay:
* The Play: Burbage was playing Richard III.
* The Historical Pun: In English history, William the Conqueror (1066) chronologically came before Richard III (1483).
* The Reality: William Shakespeare got to the woman’s bed before “Richard III” (Burbage) did. It’s a “conquest” in every sense of the word.
3. Etymologies of the “Surfeit”
| Term | Etymology & Origin | Context/Meaning |
|—|—|—|
| Capon | From Latin caponem (“to cut”). | A castrated rooster, fattened for eating. “Capon’s blankets” suggests a bed that is warm, soft, and associated with gluttony. |
| Lakin | Contraction of “Ladykin” (Little Lady). | A diminutive used for a sweetheart or a “dainty” woman. |
| Birdsnies | From “Bird’s eye.” | An Elizabethan term of endearment, similar to “sweetheart” or “darling.” |
| Punk | Origin obscure, possibly related to “spunk” or “punk” (rotten wood). | In the 1600s, this specifically meant a prostitute. The “punks of the bankside” refers to the brothels near the Globe Theatre. |
| Stays | From French estaye (“support”). | A corset or stiffened bodice. Even the masculine Raleigh wore “fancy stays” to maintain the rigid silhouette of the era. |

In this passage, Stephen is mocking Queen Elizabeth I’s vanity by comparing her wardrobe to that of the Queen of Sheba, a figure of legendary wealth and beauty from the Bible and ancient history.
1. Who was the Queen of Sheba?
The Queen of Sheba is a monarch mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Kings and Chronicles), the Qur’an, and Ethiopian history (the Kebra Nagast).
* The Biblical Story: She famously traveled to Jerusalem to test the wisdom of King Solomon with “hard questions.” She arrived with a massive caravan of camels bearing gold, precious stones, and “spices such as were never seen again.”
* The Ethiopian Tradition: In Ethiopia, she is known as Makeda. Tradition holds that she and Solomon had a son, Menelik I, who became the first Emperor of Ethiopia, making the Ethiopian royal line “Solomonic.”
* The Symbolism: In literature, “Sheba” is shorthand for unfathomable Oriental luxury, exoticism, and mystery.
2. Why the Comparison to Elizabeth I?
By saying Elizabeth had “underlinen enough to vie with her of Sheba,” Stephen is being biting and ironic:
* Hoarding vs. Heritage: Sheba’s wealth was seen as majestic and generous; Elizabeth’s wealth (in Stephen’s eyes) is the result of being a “gombeenwoman” (a greedy moneylender).
* The “Virgin” Queen: Elizabeth famously never married and cultivated an image of “purity.” Comparing her undergarments to a queen known for a legendary, passionate encounter with Solomon is Stephen’s way of poking fun at Elizabeth’s hidden side.
* Surfeit: It reinforces the “art of surfeit.” Even the “Virgin Queen” was obsessed with the material excess of the era—thousands of dresses and, apparently, a mountain of linen.
3. Etymological Note: Sheba
* Origin: The name likely refers to the Kingdom of Saba (Modern-day Yemen or Ethiopia).
* Meaning: The root is debated, but in Semitic languages, it is often linked to the number seven or the concept of an oath.

The term “gombeen” is one of the most biting Hiberno-English insults in Joyce’s arsenal, dripping with historical resentment. Coupled with his jab at “Eliza Tudor,” Stephen is attacking both the economic and political foundations of the British monarchy.
1. Etymology of Gombeen
The word gombeen comes from the Irish word gaimbín.
* Original Meaning: It literally means a “small slice” or “small portion.”
* Economic Shift: In the 18th and 19th centuries, it came to refer to interest on a loan.
* The “Gombeen Man”: This was a derogatory term for a local moneylender or a middleman merchant who exploited the poor, especially during the Great Famine. They would sell meal or seed on credit at usurious (extremely high) interest rates.
* Stephen’s Usage: By calling Queen Elizabeth I a “gombeenwoman,” Stephen is suggesting that her majesty was nothing more than a high-class loan shark, accumulating her “surfeit” of wealth by squeezing the life out of her subjects and colonies (including Ireland).
2. Tradition of the Female Monarch in England
When Stephen mentions “Eliza Tudor” (Elizabeth I), he is speaking of a woman who was an anomaly in her time. The “tradition” of female monarchs in England was actually quite new and unstable during the 16th century.
* The Salic Law Absence: Unlike France, England did not have “Salic Law,” which strictly prohibited women from inheriting the throne. However, there was a deep-seated patriarchal belief that a woman’s “frailty” made her unfit to lead.
* The First Contenders:
   * Empress Matilda (12th Century): The first woman to claim the throne. Her attempt led to a brutal civil war (“The Anarchy”) because the barons refused to be ruled by a woman. She was never formally crowned.
   * Lady Jane Grey (1553): The “Nine Days’ Queen.” She was a puppet in a power struggle and was executed almost immediately.
* The Tudor Breakthrough:
   * Mary I (Bloody Mary): Elizabeth’s older sister was the first undisputed Queen Regnant (ruling in her own right) of England.
   * Elizabeth I: She was only the second woman to successfully hold the crown.
Stephen’s Point: Because the tradition was so fresh and contested, Elizabeth had to “man up” (wearing “stays” and acting as a “lord of language” herself) to maintain power. Stephen views her not as a graceful queen, but as a shrewd, tough-as-nails “gombeenwoman” who survived a man’s world.

In this intense movement of the library scene, the “Scylla” of historical fact meets the “Charybdis” of Stephen’s bitter psychological interpretation. He is now making his most aggressive legalistic case against Anne Hathaway.
1. The French Interlude: “Cours la Reine”
The passage opens with Stephen’s memory of Paris (the “Cours la Reine” is a famous promenade).
* The Quote: “Encore vingt sous. Nous ferons de petites cochonneries.” (Another twenty sous. We’ll do little “naughty things.”)
* The Meaning: Stephen is juxtaposing the high-society talk of the library with the raw, commercial lust of the “kips” or Parisian streets. He’s suggesting that while they talk of “Penelope,” the reality of sex is often just a transaction.
2. “Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!”
Buck Mulligan is parodying St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart.
* The Pun: By changing her name to “Anycock,” Mulligan is being violently ribald, mocking both the Catholic Church and the sexual “surfeit” Stephen just described. It’s his way of “lowering” the tone of the academic debate.
3. The Evidence: The 40 Shillings and the “Broken Vow”
Stephen presents two “smoking guns” to prove Shakespeare hated his wife:
* The Debt: While Shakespeare was living “richly” in London, Anne had to borrow forty shillings from her father’s shepherd (Thomas Whittington) to buy necessities. Stephen’s logic: If he loved her, why was she begging from a servant?
* The Ghost’s Rage: Stephen argues that in Hamlet, the Ghost isn’t just mad about being murdered; he is obsessed with the “adulterate beast” who took his wife. To Stephen, this is Shakespeare “branding” Anne with infamy. He suggests she didn’t just “overbear” him in the ryefield; she was unfaithful with his own brother (Richard Shakespeare).
4. Etymologies & References
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Context/Meaning |
|—|—|—|
| Giglot | From Middle English gigge (“a flighty girl”). | A lewd, wanton, or giddy woman. Stephen uses it to describe the “court wanton” (Mistress Fitton). |
| Ostler | From Old French hostelier (“innkeeper”). | A stableman who looks after horses. Stephen uses a crude metaphor: Shakespeare acted as a “stableman” for the Earl of Pembroke’s sexual encounters. |
| Canary | Named after the Canary Islands. | A sweet, fortified wine. Sir William Davenant’s mother is accused of using it to lure “cockcanaries” (men). |
| Galliard | (From previous) | Re-contextualized here as “Harry of six wives’ daughter” (Elizabeth I) dancing a brisk galliard. |
| Diamond panes | Architecture. | Small, diamond-shaped glass panes in Tudor windows. It emphasizes Anne’s “imprisonment” in provincial Stratford. |

The “swansong” Stephen refers to is Shakespeare’s Last Will and Testament, and specifically the most debated piece of furniture in literary history: the second-best bed.
1. The Insult in the Will
Stephen’s argument rests on the cold, legal silence of Shakespeare’s final days. In the original draft of the will, Anne Hathaway wasn’t mentioned at all. An interlinear note (an afterthought) was later added:
> “Item I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture.”
>
* Stephen’s View: He sees this as a final, public slap in the face. To leave the “second-best” anything to a spouse was, in his eyes, an act of “branding her with infamy.”
* The Reality: Modern historians often argue that the “best bed” was the guest bed, and the “second-best” was the marital bed—the one they actually shared. But for Stephen’s theory of a “sundered” marriage, it is the ultimate proof of a lifelong grudge.
2. Shakespeare’s “Midwife”
Stephen mentions that Shakespeare, like Socrates, “had a midwife to mother.”
* Socrates’ Mother: Her name was Phaenarete. Socrates famously compared his method of philosophy to midwifery—he didn’t give birth to ideas, but helped others “deliver” them.
* The Twist: Stephen is suggesting that Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, was the source of his “labor,” but his wife, the “shrew,” was the source of his misery.
3. Etymologies & References
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Context/Meaning |
|—|—|—|
| Swansong | From the ancient belief that swans are silent until just before they die, when they sing a beautiful song. | Refers to Shakespeare’s Will—his final “statement” to the world. |
| Uneared | From Old English erian (“to plow”). | An agricultural metaphor for a woman who has not been “plowed” (impregnated). |
| Goodman | From Good + Man. | An archaic term for the male head of a household; a husband. |
| Lawn Tennyson | A pun on the poet Lord Alfred Tennyson. | Mulligan mocks the “gentleman poet” by associating him with the “lawn” (aristocratic gardens/tennis) and a soft, decorative style. |

In Stephen’s cynical reconstruction of Shakespeare’s London life, he casts the Bard in the lowly, almost voyeuristic role of an “ostler” (a stableman/innkeeper’s assistant) for the Earl of Pembroke.
1. Shakespeare as the “Innkeeper” (The Ostler Metaphor)
The “Sir William Davenant” mentioned earlier is the key to this insult. It was a common 17th-century rumor that Shakespeare was the real father of William Davenant, an Oxford innkeeper’s son.
Stephen takes this gossip and flips it. He suggests that Shakespeare didn’t just “father” children; he facilitated the lusts of the aristocracy.
* The “Holy Office”: Stephen says Shakespeare performed the “holy office an ostler does for the stallion.”
* The Meaning: Just as an ostler leads a stallion to a mare to mate, Stephen suggests Shakespeare used his influence and proximity to the “court wanton” (Mary Fitton) to arrange sexual encounters for his patron, the Earl of Pembroke (the “lord” of the sonnets).
* The Betrayal: In Stephen’s eyes, Shakespeare was “twice spurned.” He loved the Lord (Pembroke) and perhaps the Lady (Fitton), but they ended up with each other, leaving Shakespeare to play the “innkeeper” to their passion while he was left with his “second-best bed” and his “shrew” in Stratford.
2. Etymology of Pembroke
The name Pembroke is of Welsh origin and carries a very literal geographic meaning that fits perfectly with the “sea” and “land” imagery throughout Ulysses.
* Old Welsh: It comes from Penfro.
* Breakdown: * Pen: Means “head,” “end,” or “promontory.”
   * Bro: Means “region,” “country,” or “land.”
* Literal Meaning: “Land’s End” or “The Head of the Region.”
It refers to the Pembrokeshire peninsula in Southwest Wales. Interestingly, for Stephen—who is obsessed with the “end” of things and the boundaries of identity—the name of Shakespeare’s rival literally means the “end of the land,” the point where the earth meets the devouring sea.

You’ve hit on the emotional core of this entire episode. While the librarians are performing “intellectual exegesis” (formal interpretation), Stephen is performing a psychological exorcism.
For Joyce, Shakespeare wasn’t just a writer; he was the “Great Father” of English literature. To a young, struggling Irish writer like Joyce, that stature was a wall he had to climb. By dragging Shakespeare through the mud of “the kips,” ruined marriages, and embarrassing debts, Joyce is humanizing the “God” so that he, a mere mortal, has the space to create.
1. The Purpose: Breaking the “God-Like Stature”
Like George Bernard Shaw, who coined the term “Bardolatry” to mock the mindless worship of Shakespeare, Joyce used psychoanalysis to find the “man” behind the “monument.”
* The Artistic Usurper: Stephen (and Joyce) felt that if Shakespeare was a perfect, untouchable genius, then no one could ever follow him. But if Shakespeare was a “wounded” man who wrote out of spite, jealousy, and sexual frustration, then his art becomes a tool for survival.
* Personal Parallel: Joyce himself lived in “scortatory” exile, had a complex relationship with “home” (Ireland/Stratford), and felt he was a “lord of language” who was socially marginalized. By proving Shakespeare was a “coistrel” and a “gombeen,” Joyce is essentially saying: “If this messy, insulted man could be the greatest poet in history, then so can I.”
2. The “Legal Fiction” of Fatherhood
Since you noted we’ve touched on his theory of paternity, look at how the insults serve that specific logic:
If fatherhood is a “legal fiction” (as Stephen claims), then Shakespeare’s identity is not found in his biological children, but in his creative sons. Stephen is “begetting” a new version of Shakespeare in this room. He is “killing” the old, respectable Shakespeare to give birth to a new, tormented one who looks exactly like Stephen Dedalus.
3. Etymological & Thematic Notes
| Term | Context |
|—|—|
| Exegesis | From Greek exēgeisthai (“to interpret/lead out”). Usually used for explaining the Bible. Stephen treats Shakespeare like a secular Bible, applying “holy” methods to “unholy” rumors. |
| Bardolatry | Coined by George Bernard Shaw. Bard + Idolatry. The worship of Shakespeare as a divine being rather than a playwright. |
| Atonement | At-one-ment. Stephen is seeking a “reconciliation” with the father through his theory, trying to bridge the gap between himself and the greatness of the past. |

After all the fireworks, the “swansong,” and the insults, Stephen is finally cornered. The “sturdy” John Eglinton delivers the killing blow to the performance:
> —You believe your own theory?
> —No, Stephen said promptly.
>
It is a stunning moment of intellectual honesty. After 26 pages of “brilliancies,” he admits it was all a performance—a way to flex his “lord of language” muscles and to psychologically deal with his own father-complex.
1. The “Legal Fiction” Finalized
The purpose of the theory was never “truth”; it was displacement. By “proving” Shakespeare was a tormented exile, a cuckold, and a ghost, Stephen was actually describing himself.
* The Father-Son Loop: If he doesn’t believe the theory, he remains “sundered” from the tradition. He is still a son without a father, wandering Dublin without a home.
* The “Art of the Lie”: This aligns with Oscar Wilde’s idea (which Mr. Best brought up earlier) that the artist doesn’t tell the truth; the artist creates a “mask” that is more real than the truth.
2. Etymologies of the Exit
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Context/Meaning |
|—|—|—|
| Atonement | From “At-one-ment” (being at one). | Stephen is looking for a way to be “at one” with his identity, but his “No” shows he hasn’t found it yet. |
| Paternoster | From Latin Pater noster (“Our Father”). | Mentioned as Stephen watches the “fatherly” librarian. It reinforces the theme of seeking a spiritual father. |
| Apologia | From Greek apo (away) + logos (speech). | A formal defense of one’s opinions or conduct. This entire library scene is Stephen’s apologia for his own existence. |
3. The End of the “Scylla and Charybdis”
As Stephen and Mulligan leave the library, they pass a “patient silhouette” waiting in the doorway. It is Leopold Bloom.
Stephen doesn’t know it yet, but he has just walked past the man who—for one night, at least—will act as the “father” he has been trying to invent through Shakespeare. The “God-like stature” of the playwright is replaced by the “human stature” of a Jewish advertisement-canvasser with “pale Galilean eyes.”

In this passage, Stephen connects Shakespeare’s financial ruthlessness to the political gore of the Elizabethan era. He paints the “Bard” not as a soaring spirit, but as a man with a “sense of property” who profited from famine and state executions.
1. Shakespeare the “Cornjobber”
Stephen cites historical records of Shakespeare hoarding grain during a famine to prove he was a “gombeenman” (as discussed earlier).
* The “Pound of Flesh”: Stephen argues that Shylock wasn’t just a character; he was a reflection of Shakespeare’s own business practices. He sued people for small amounts (like the price of malt) while people were starving.
* Lopez and the “Jew’s Heart”: He references Rodrigo Lopez, Queen Elizabeth’s physician (of Jewish descent), who was executed on thin charges of treason. Stephen suggests Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice to capitalize on the “jewbaiting” (antisemitism) that followed this public butchery.
2. The “Philosophaster” and the Witchroaster
* King James I: When Queen Elizabeth died, James VI of Scotland became James I of England.
* Witchroasting: James was obsessed with demonology and wrote a book on it. Stephen argues Macbeth (with its witches) was essentially “fan-service” for the new king.
* Philosophaster: A “pretender to philosophy.” Stephen’s insult for James I, who fancied himself an intellectual.
3. Etymologies & Difficult Terms
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Meaning in Context |
|—|—|—|
| Tod | From Middle English todde. | An old weight unit for wool or grain, usually 28 pounds. 10 tods is a massive hoard. |
| Leech | From Old English læce (“healer”). | An archaic term for a doctor or physician (like Lopez). |
| Equivocation | From Latin aequus (equal) + vocare (to call). | Telling a lie that is technically a truth. A major theme in Macbeth and the trial of the Jesuits. |
| Buckbasket | From Middle English bouken (“to wash”). | A large laundry basket. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is hidden in one. |
| Sufflaminandus sum | Latin: “I must be stepped on/restrained.” | Ben Jonson famously said this of Shakespeare’s runaway talking. Stephen applies it to his own rambling performance. |
| Mingo… Mingere | Latin verb paradigm. | “I urinate.” Mulligan is mocking Stephen’s “theolologicophilolological” (theology + philology) jargon by reducing it to bodily functions. |
4. Patsy Caliban & Our American Cousin
* The Sea Venture: A ship wrecked in Bermuda (the inspiration for The Tempest).
* Patsy Caliban: Stephen views the “monster” Caliban as a prototype for the colonized Irishman or the “American cousin”—the “primitive” seen through the eyes of the European colonizer.

Stephen responds to the challenge with his signature mix of linguistic gymnastics and historical cynicism. To “prove” Shakespeare’s religion or ethnicity is, for him, another way to show how the artist absorbs everything—the money, the politics, and the blood of his time—to build his “sense of property.”
1. The “Holy Roman” vs. The Jew
The Dean of Studies’ claim that Shakespeare was a “Holy Roman” (Catholic) refers to the theory that Shakespeare’s father, John, was a recusant Catholic. Stephen, however, is more interested in the economic “Jewishness” he just described.
* The Argument: Stephen isn’t arguing that Shakespeare was ethnically Jewish, but that he was “Shylockian” in his soul. He suggests that Shakespeare’s “uprightness of dealing” was merely the shrewdness of a man who knew how to “exact his pound of flesh” from a fellow player.
* The Convergence: By linking the execution of Lopez (the “sheeny” doctor) to the writing of The Merchant of Venice, Stephen argues that Shakespeare’s “religion” was simply opportunism. He wrote what the “Mafeking enthusiasm” (the jingoistic crowd) wanted to hear.
2. Theolologicophilolological Jargon
Mulligan’s mockery (“Mingo, minxi…”) highlights the absurdity of Stephen’s method. Stephen is blending:
* Theology: The nature of the father and son (the “consubstantial” argument).
* Logic: The “burden of proof” and legalistic evidence.
* Philology: The study of how words (like “William the Conqueror” or “Shylock”) carry the weight of history.
3. Key Etymologies & Terms
| Term | Origin & Etymology | Meaning in Context |
|—|—|—|
| Philosophaster | Latin philosophus + -aster (diminutive suffix meaning “ersatz” or “bad”). | A “pretender” to philosophy. A sharp jab at King James I’s intellectual vanity. |
| Maltjobber | Malt + Jobber (one who buys/sells for profit). | Someone who buys grain to resell at a higher price during a shortage. Stephen uses it to label Shakespeare a famine profiteer. |
| Equivocation | (See below) | Specifically refers to the Jesuit doctrine of mental reservation, used during the trials of the Gunpowder Plot. |